Yun Fan paced to the floor-to-ceiling windows of the balcony, looking down from above at the entire 'Golden Hour' and taking in all the scenery.
"That power just now… the power of [Order]. It looks like Sunday's plan has already begun."
Gazing down at the tourists and Penacony residents lying unconscious on the streets in various poses—spread-eagle, curled up like shrimp, on all fours, piled on top of each other—yet all having fallen into an infant-like sleep, Yun Fan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Just now, the power of [Order] had swept across the 'Golden Hour,' forcibly pulling every person in the real world into the dream realm. At this moment, whether one was in a Dreamscape Pool or not no longer mattered.
'This station brings breaking news: The Clock Boy's hands have reached the final countdown. Mr. Sunday, head of the Oak Family, announces—the Harmonia Grand Festival has begun!'
———————————
One system hour earlier, at the Penacony Grand Theater…
At the end of the Path of the Great Star, inside the vast golden disc-shaped venue, Sunday, head of the Oak Family, stood with his hands behind his back.
As a corner of the dream, pleasant yet slightly chaotic music echoed throughout the venue as well. However, this music that would sound somewhat noisy to ordinary people did not affect the Family Head's state of mind.
Sunday's eyes were gently closed, his head slightly raised, like a devout believer performing some pilgrimage ritual.
Tap, tap, tap…
Suddenly, a burst of disorderly footsteps broke the 'tranquility' of the scene. Hearing the sound, Sunday opened his eyes. Golden brilliance flashed within his pupils; his golden irises made the youth appear incomparably noble and majestic at this moment.
"Mr. Sunday…"
The arrivals were the Nameless of the Astral Express. Watching the elegant man before them, Misha—who had come along with the Nameless—had a complicated look in his eyes.
Several system hours earlier, the Nameless and Misha had used the power of 'Memem' to return to the 'Dreamscape' of the Reverie Hotel.
At that time, only four system hours remained until the opening of the 'Harmonia Grand Festival.' Just as the Trailblazer team planned to split up and investigate the issue of the 'Discordant Notes' as quickly as possible, suddenly, all their phones rang at the same time.
Himeko opened her phone to see an email. The sender was someone who called himself the 'Watcher of Order.'
Without hesitation, Himeko opened the email and carefully read its contents.
'Nameless of the Astral Express, I am a follower of [Order]. On behalf of the Dreammaster, I invite you all to the Penacony Grand Theater to witness the opening of the 'Harmonia Grand Festival' together.'
After receiving this baffling invitation, Himeko, March 7th, Stelle, and Misha—the four Nameless present—first discussed it among themselves, then decided to accept the invitation and head to the Penacony Grand Theater to see what was going on.
Although there would be some risk, they lacked clues. 'Accepting the invitation' was perhaps the fastest way.
Thus, in order to enter the Penacony Grand Theater, the Express crew, just as in the original timeline, participated in the 'Heatwave Festival' hosted by Svarog, overcoming challenges all the way until they arrived at the theater via the Path of the Great Star.
"Mr. Sunday, I never expected that you would be the follower of [Order]…"
Even while Mikhail was still alive, he had already detected 'Discordant Notes' within the 'Family' and had vaguely sensed the existence of remnants of [Order]. However, he had never managed to identify who that remnant was.
But now, the answer was self-evident. The Sunday before them was the commander of Penacony's [Order] forces.
Hearing Misha's words, Sunday lowered his gaze, placed one hand in front of his abdomen, and bowed slightly toward him.
"Mr. 'Watchmaker,' Sunday, head of the Oak Family, greets you."
Misha: "I am not the 'Watchmaker.' The current me is merely a remnant will. Head of the Oak Family, I want to ask you one question."
"I want to know, why are you doing this? Why do you seek [Order]?"
Misha's brows furrowed deeply. The youth's gaze was fixed firmly on the 'elegant young noble' before him, his fists tightly clenched.
Hearing Misha's words, Sunday merely smiled faintly, then turned around again. Gazing at the light orb on the ceiling that resembled a brilliant sun, he spoke softly.
"Everyone, along the way here, I believe you have more or less felt the miniature of that era—the chaotic era when Penacony was still a frontier prison, where equality was nonexistent and people lived in constant fear…"
Sunday spread his arms as if embracing the air, recounting the story of Penacony's turbulent period.
"Mr. Sunday, I believe now is not the time to discuss Penacony's past. You invited us here; surely you didn't just want to tell us history?"
Himeko stepped forward, staring at the eloquent Sunday, and interrupted him.
Being interrupted mid-speech, our Mr. Sunday was not annoyed. Instead, he smiled lightly and shook his head.
"Miss Himeko, interrupting others casually is impolite behavior. However, you are right—this is indeed not the time to discuss that."
At this point, Sunday narrowed his eyes slightly, a dark gleam flashing in his golden pupils.
"Since all of you are so impatient, I shall speak frankly. I would like to ask the Nameless to leave Penacony."
Himeko: "...…"
March 7th, Stelle: "...…"
Misha: "...…"
Everyone fell silent. They understood Sunday's meaning. This was an order to leave. Sunday wanted to expel them from Penacony.
As a Nameless organization famous across the galaxy, the Astral Express's influence was self-evident, and the Nameless were notorious for 'meddling in others' business.' Therefore, for Sunday…
Seeing them remain silent, our head of the Oak Family continued.
"Penacony's affairs should be handled by the people of Penacony themselves. The conflict between [Harmony] and [Order], no matter who ultimately wins, should be decided by the people of Penacony, not by you Nameless."
— — — —